But with farmland rapidly disappearing and the average age of a farmer inching past middle age, it's an endangered profession.

In an effort to preserve California's leadership role as a global food producer, McNamara and his wife, Julie, in 1993 founded the Center for Land-Based Learning in Winters (Yolo County). The walnut grower took 40 of his own acres and converted it into a farm incubator, where students can get hands-on experience learning about sustainable agriculture and conservation.

We talked with McNamara about what he sees as the most important issues - from the next U.S. farm bill to genetically engineered foods - facing farmers and consumers in 2013. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q:You've talked a lot in the past about the aging farmer. Is this still a concern?

A: Yes, it is. We need 100,000 new farmers in the United States, and we need them now. In California the average age of a farmer is 60. The problem is these older farmers are no longer necessarily passing their farms on to their children. In some cases the kids just don't want to do it. But the good news is that the time is ripe for beginning farming programs.

In August we graduated our first crop of 20 people from the California Farm Academy, one of the center's programs. It's a six-month, hands-on, science-based course on farming.

Q:Are there any concerns about the proposed farm bill that Congress has yet to pass. Is California getting its fair share?

A: Seventeen percent of our communities - mostly children - don't know where their next meal will come from. Given that California produces 50 percent of the nation's fruits and vegetables, that's a scary number. Seventy percent of the farm bill covers nutrition and feeding programs. As citizens, we have to make sure to supply that safety net, and there is always concern that those programs will be cut.

I don't think California has ever gotten its fair share of the farm bill. Personally, I would like to see funds made available for research.

Q:What are ways California can deal with food insecurity?

A: In 2011, California passed a bill that gives farmers a 10 percent tax advantage for donating food crops to the Association of Food Banks. At some point from farm to table we lose 40 percent of our food. Sometimes it's from spoilage and sometimes it's because of the market - harvesting a field costs more than the break-even point. Hopefully instead of disking their fields, these farmers will donate the crop.

Q:Last year the rest of the nation watched California vote down legislation that would have required most food manufacturers to label products containing genetically modified ingredients. Will GMO labeling continue to be an issue?

A: Yes. The election started a national dialogue. I don't believe this is going away in California. It's an issue that's very important to consumers. I would like to see implementation of GMO labeling on a national level.

Q:Besides losing farmers, the nation is losing farmland to development, to urban sprawl. Is it inevitable, or is there something the country - or at least California - can do about it?

A: We're losing millions of acres nationally. In California we're trying to promote the importance of being a major food producer. Sacramento has named itself the "farm-to-fork capital of the nation," hoping to make it the Silicon Valley of the food movement, giving it cachet to attract other business. We're seeing schools plant edible gardens like the ones Alice Waters started in Berkeley, educating youth about the importance of our food supply. And there are agencies like Sacramento's Rural-Urban Connections Strategy, which looks at the region's growth and sustainability objectives from a rural perspective.